Minimum age to play in this division: 19 (European) or 18 (Non-European)

Championship name: German Bowl

2009 Winner: Berlin Adler

2010 Winner: Kiel Baltic Hurricanes

GFL 2

Level: 2nd

Divisions: 2

Gruppe Sud (Southern Germany)

Gruppe Nord (Northern Germany)

Number of teams: 16 (8 in each division)

Minimum age to play in this division: 17

Championship name: none. The winner of each division plays a 2 game series -vs- the worst team from the corresponding 1st League Division. If they win the series (once at home, once away) then that team moves up into the GFL and the other team drops into the GFL 2.

Regionalliga (Regional Leagues)

Level: 3rd

Divisions: 3. Each region of Germany has these three divisions, meaning that there are several of them with no less than 7 teams each.

Gruppe Sud

Gruppe Mitte

Gruppe Nord

Number of teams: varies

Minimum age to play in this division: 17

Championship name: none. Playoff system in place to determine which teams get the opportunity to move up into the GFL 2. The best get the chance to move up, the worst move down.

Oberliga (Regional Leagues, smaller regions than Regionalliga)

Level: 4th

Number of teams: varies

Minimum age to play in this division: 17

Championship name: none. Playoff system in place to determine which teams get the opportunity to move up. The best get the chance to move up, the worst move down.

Verbandsliga (Regional Leagues, smaller regions than Oberliga)

Level: 5th

Number of teams: varies

Minimum age to play in this division: 17

Championship name: none. Playoff system in place to determine which teams get the opportunity to move up. The best get the chance to move up, the worst move down.

Landesliga (league for newly built teams)

Level: 6th

Number of teams: varies

Minimum age to play in this division: 17

Championship name: none. Playoff system in place to determine which teams get the opportunity to move up. The best get the chance to move up, the worst move down.

Season start date: March

Import rules:

Import definition: Non European players

Number of imports allowed per team (roster): 8

Number of imports allowed per game (game roster): 6

Number of imports allowed per game (on the field at the same time): 2

Both the GFL & GFL 2 follow the import rules mentioned above. The lower tier leagues have stricter import limits. As a rule of thumb, GFL & GFL2 teams import paid players, very few teams below the GFL2 pay any imports. There are exceptions, but these are generally only well funded teams that are looking to climb the league structure quickly.

Hungarian leagues has no limitation of foreign players but all of the Hungarian leagues are amateur which means that non of the players can get paid.

Coaches can get paid and in the last few years there were always 2-3 foreign coaches from overseas so licensed coaches can coach (and be paid) and also play as amateur players (Tonny Simmons, former NFL player, worked like this in 2011)

Import definition: Paid players. Imports are defined by whether they're paid or not. The import players in the Elite Series can be of whichever nationality, while the import players in the 1st division can not be from outside the European Economical Area [because they won't get a work permit as athletes at a lower level than the top level - which is the Elite Series. A work permit is required for all non-Europeans, which is defined as countries outside the EEA.

Number of imports allowed per team: 2 in the Elite Series, 2 in the 1st division, none in the 2nd division

Number of imports allowed per game (on the field at any given time): 2 in 1st division, unlimited in the 2nd division

Dual passport (Import/European passport) players are not considered imports so there is no limit or restriction

No restrictions for any players in the team or game, but during one down, there should be no more than 4 non-Slovakian players (max. 2 from USA, Canada, Mexico, Japan) for SFL and 2 non-Slovakian players (max. 1 from USA, Canada, Mexico, Japan) for SFL 7